Demons
by UndeadFae
Summary: 'She was young, rebellious, and ready to break anyone's face if they even so much dared as to breathe in the wrong way around her.' - How two demons met, until they left for war.


She was young, rebellious, and ready to break anyone's face if they even so much dared as to breathe in the wrong way around her.

They were all curious about her and her power, to have been able to impress the Demon King himself at such a young age she surely must be powerful. Unfortunately, she didn't quite enjoy the Commandments' company... or anyone's presence, actually. It was rare to find her anywhere near anyone outside of the battlefield, and her rough personality didn't really encourage people into befriending her. That one time she decked someone for pulling a weird face while looking at her doesn't really help either.

Some may call him insane- scratch that, some probably did call him insane, but after spending some time observing the newcomer, eventually curiosity took over, and Monspeet to at least try and talk to her. And yes, he knew that old human saying- something about cats dying?-, but he wasn't a cat, he was a demon, what was the worst that could happen? It wasn't as if she would kill a comrade... right?

Some hours, a black eye and a few rude words later, he found out her name, and managed to half hold something scarcely resembling a conversation... if grunts and frowns could count as answers.

Derieri was a weird girl, but there was more to her than what she would let be seen.

* * *

Months passed since she joined the Commandments, and some sort of... bond? Was growing between them. If it could be called like that. The Demon King always made the Commandments work in pairs, that way there was a lesser risk to lose someone in fight. They might have been demons, but they still cared for their own. With her competitive personality and his calm and patient attitude, it was almost to be expected that they would be paired together. Derieri didn't really complain, and Monspeet was probably the only one who would ever willingly put up with her.

"Don't get in my way." was the only thing Derieri told, or rather, yelled at him, before going on their first work together. He didn't object or make any comment, just nodding to let her know that he heard her. Derieri was still a newbie, no matter how powerful she could be, and sometimes, certain things could be only learned the hard way.

That night, she was a bloody mess when they came back, still standing with her serious face and unspoken pride, quickly retiring to whatever corner she liked to metaphorically and half literally lick her wounds, while Monspeet dusted his cape, with some bruises and scratches already healing.

The next time, she didn't utter a word since they left the castle, and didn't complain either as they somehow managed to work as a team during the fight, coming out almost unscathed. When they went back to the Demon Realm, she grunted a 'thank you' that, despite her constant angry and irritated mood, sounded more sincere than anything she ever told him before, and then proceed to storm off.

They were making progress. Slow, but better than nothing.

* * *

Monspeet wasn't sure of when exactly they started spending more time together. Maybe it was since that moment when he offered to spar with her, who knows. With the time passing, she started opening in her own way, answering questions with words and sentences instead of grunts and nods, or complaining more loudly over one or two people that pissed her off. If he had to be completely honest, it was more than he ever expected to get.

After all their conversations, Monspeet learned how to read her. He learned how to tell the difference between her usual, annoyed tone and her irritated tone that meant she was about to punch someone, when she was being sarcastic and when she was dead serious about something, and how she referred to important people or someone who was absolute trash.

Her fighting style was impressive, with a bit slow start, but growing more and more brutal -and rather reckless- as the fight kept going. Monspeet always had to keep an eye on her to make sure that she didn't overdo it, or that she wasn't too caught up in her adrenaline enjoying herself to end up completely forgetting about anything else but the sensation of her hits connecting, her punches tearing skin, flesh and bones apart like they were nothing more than a dry twig. He didn't really complain or try to make her change it, though, as once Derieri started, she wouldn't take long before beating her opponents into a bloody, unrecognizable mess of guts and flesh splattered all over the ground. She really grew stronger during all these years since her recruitment, and while it wouldn't really stop him from worrying, it was good to know that she could deal with anything coming her way just fine.

Derieri had a sister, a girl older than her who didn't enjoy fights and needless deaths as much as she did, always fussing over her sister's wellbeing and unhealthy dedication to fighting, and going by the way Derieri talked about her, fond, calm and almost smiling, this girl clearly meant the word to her, going as far as to decide to risk her life joining the Commandments to protect her. Sometimes she would tell one or two short anecdotes from their childhood, like the time her sidter tried to get her to wear a dress and Derieri, with no care nor shame, abruptly decided that clothes were overrated and going commando was mucn better and comfortable. A shame, she would look really cute in a dress.

Monspeet made a mental note to ask to meet this girl someday, and let her know that Derieri was doing pretty well with the Commandments. There were still rumors and fears going around between the civilians, rumors of a 'Holy' war about to start, she surely must be worried.

* * *

He never had a chance to meet her.

The war started, and between the constant battles, there wasn't any free time to go home anymore, the Commandments were always needed to maintain the peace and order between the demon troops, to assist in any losing fight and keep watch on the most dangerous zones.

By the time they got the news, it was too late.

As surprisingly as it may be, few things actually managed to get under Derieri's skin, she didn't really give a damn about almost anything to actually get mad. To this day, Monspeet could swear he never saw her as furious as that time. The small, nervous demon who was unfortunate enough to have to inform them of all the civilians kidnapped, included Derieri's sister, barely made it out of there alive.

With the almost permanent frown on her face, no one could really tell that there was a difference, but Monspeet saw it clearly. Something inside of her snapped.

From then on, her whole behavior subtly changed: she started speaking less, adding more insults and rudeness in her sentences, spent less time sparring and training in favor of scouting and searching, sometimes even going as far as to getting way too close to the Fairy King's Forest, the base of the enemy alliance. Her objective was clear, but with all the barriers and protections the other clans put up, it was impossible for any demon to get inside. During the battles, her change was more visible: whatever tiny bit of instinct of self presevation she had before was thrown out of the window now, making her more brutal and reckless, if that was possible. If Derieri couldn't stand the Goddess Clan nefore, she absolutely despided it with every fiber of her being now. There were few, rare times where a bit of logic managed to overcome her rage, and she yelled questions at the unfortunate Stigma's warrior that would fall into her hands, but there would never be enough luck to get any useful infortmation, and before they could even have the time beg to have their lifes spared, she would mercylessly beat them up until there was nothing more than a red pulp left.

When the Demon King authorized a full-scale attack on Stigma, Derieri was more than glad to be on the front line. Their objective was clear and simple: rescue the hostages and bring back the traitor, by any mean necessary, and she sure wouldn't hesitate to break faces and tear limbs apart in order to rescue her sister.

* * *

It was a complete disaster.

It was obvious since the kidnapping that the Goddesses had some kind of trick up their slevee. They should've planned this better, think of something before launching an attack without a second thought, come up with some kind of strategy. They didn't, and now the civilians, all those innocent bystanders, Derieri's pacifist, sweet and caring sister, were dead. No, not dead, murdered.

Derieri's arm, completely desintegrated, hardly mattered, and somehow, Monspeet couldn't find it in himself to worry about that now. Not because their lifes were in danger, no, that was something they always expected, it came with the job after all. The responsible of this massacre was right in from of them, and nothing would stop them from murdering him.

As much as he hated to admit it, the archangels were truly tough opponents. At the rate the fight was going, they didn't have any choice left if they wanted to win... demons despised and feared it, but it was inevitable now. They had to use Indura. Win or die, there was no in between.

As he observed how Derieri ripped her own heart out, holding it up in her hand, nothing but rage in her eyes, Monspeet didn't hesitate to do the same, already accepting their deaths, well aware that there was no way back now.

She had been strong, rebellious, scarred by war, and one of the closest friends he ever had.


End file.
